Power Failure at Sydney Data Centre Causes Disruptions
A major TPG outage left thousands of homes and businesses across Australia without internet access on Monday evening. This internet outages impacted multiple brands under the company, including iiNet, Internode, Vodafone, and Kogan.
The issue began just after 5pm AEDT when a storm-related power failure at a Sydney data centre disrupted services. Many customers reported being offline for over 12 hours, with some still facing issues by Tuesday morning.
Figure 1: A massive storm, described as “very dangerous” and “life-threatening,” struck Sydney on Monday.
TPG Apologises for the Disruption
A spokesperson said the “vast majority” of services were restored by early Tuesday. Customers still experiencing issues were advised to reboot their modems. He added that technical teams were closely monitoring network status to ensure normal operations.
“If any customers are still experiencing connectivity issues, they should reboot their modems to restore services,” he said.
Outages were mainly due to a storm-related power failure at the AAPT data centre in Forest Lodge, Sydney. The outage affected NSW and ACT customers the most, though reports came from across the country.
The spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience and thanked users for their patience.
Figure 2: Flooding disrupted daily life in Glebe. [Credit: 9News]
Customer Frustration Over Delays
Despite the company’s reassurances, customers continued to report problems. According to Downdetector, over 100 reports of internet outages remained around 7am Tuesday.
A user on social media platform X said their connection was still down after 12 hours. Another customer, frustrated with the delays, asked for an estimated time of restoration, stating that they were unable to get a call back for a week. Others mentioned ongoing issues in North Sydney.
Some users criticised TPG’s communication during the outage. One person expressed disappointment, saying the company should provide real-time updates on social media, especially when its website was down.
Another compared the situation to last year’s Optus outage, saying TPG had not learned from that experience.
Sydney Storm Triggers Widespread Internet Outages
The Sydney storm on Monday caused widespread damage, including flash flooding and power outages. The severe weather led to network outages affecting multiple telecommunications providers.
TPG Telecom confirmed that a combination of a mains power failure and a backup generator failure at the data centre was responsible for the issue.
The company acknowledged the disruption on X, stating: “After a storm-related power failure at our Sydney data centre disrupted broadband services this evening, connectivity is being gradually restored. We’re working on restoring all services as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused customers.”
Figure 3: The Tweet by TPG Telecom mentions restoration updates [Source: X/TPG Telecom]
NBN Co Denies Involvement
During the TPG internet outage, some customers speculated that NBN Co was responsible. However, NBN Co quickly clarified that the issue lay with network, directing affected users to TPG’s service status page for updates.
The sudden surge in website traffic caused problems for TPG’s network status page, preventing some users from accessing updates.
Internet Outage Impacts Major Providers
The TPG NBN outage affected thousands of customers across Vodafone, iiNet, Internode, and Kogan. At the peak of the outage around 5.40pm Monday, nearly 14,000 problem reports flooded Downdetector. By 7pm, reports had dropped to around 2,500, indicating gradual service restoration.
While services were largely restored by early Tuesday, some users continued to report issues, raising concerns about TPG’s network resilience during extreme weather events.
Calls for Better Communication and Reliability
The TPG outage Sydney incident has sparked frustration over telecommunications reliability in Australia. Customers have urged providers like TPG, iiNet, and Vodafone to improve outage communication and ensure faster resolutions.
For now, TPG has assured users that its technical teams are monitoring the situation and working to prevent similar disruptions in the future.
